A nickel here, a nickel there, and pretty soon you’re talking about some real money.

Prosecutors say workers at a suburban Philadelphia steel plant operated a sophisticated theft ring that smuggled nearly $1 million worth of nickel off the grounds.

The Chester County district attorney’s office announced charges Wednesday against eight people accused of stealing more than 55 tons of nickel, an ingredient in steel.

Prosecutors say in one particularly brazen theft workers at the ArcelorMittal factory in South Coatesville loaded a rented box truck with so much nickel its front wheels lifted off the ground.

The scheme might have continued indefinitely had a plant manager not caught one of the defendants shoveling nickel briquettes into buckets. Court papers say the thief admitted his role and pointed the finger at his co-conspirators.